The school year has begun, and there is so much going on in early education I thought I would give everyone some weekend reading. 

Preschool Math Talent Predicts Test Scores: A growing body of research supports the importance of simple math work in early learning. Now, a study shows that a preschooler’s ability to count things can predict his or her scores on math tests in elementary school, ScienceDaily reports this week.

…The precision with which preschoolers estimate quantities, prior to any formal education in mathematics, predicts their mathematics ability in elementary school, according to research from the Kennedy Krieger Institute. -- ScienceDaily, 9/14/11. Read more

Jobs Act Supports Early Ed: President Barack Obama gave early learning a boost in his proposed Jobs Act by allowing states to use its funds to support early ed teachers and facilities, CLASP says today. Unfortunately, the upcoming presidential and congressional elections make passage of the proposal unlikely.

Once again, the Administration has demonstrated their commitment to supporting a "cradle to career" education system, beginning at birth, by allowing states to use funding for compensation and benefits to retain or rehire early childhood educators in state-funded early childhood programs serving children from birth to kindergarten entry. Local education agency funds may also be used for the modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities used for early childhood programs. “Early Learning in the American Jobs Act.” 9/15/11. Read more

Benefits of Early Bilingual Experiences: Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS) and early learning expert, has an excellent blog post over at NBC News’ Education Nation about how “Bilingualism is Good Brain Exercise for Kids (and Adults),” including tips for parents and teachers, as well as a link to a presentation.

Because we now know that the early brain wiring appears to be different for monolinguals and bilinguals within the first year of life, it emphasizes just how important it is to have high-quality interactions and input from the start. In fact, we also found that the more the children heard in that language as infants, the larger their vocabulary was later.  9/14/11. Read more

Recession Takes a Bite Out of Middle America: The Census Bureau shows a typical middle-income family saw its annual earnings fall to 1996 levels, after adjustments for inflation, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The income of a household considered to be at the statistical middle fell 2.3% to an inflation-adjusted $49,445 in 2010, which is 7.1% below its 1999 peak, the Census Bureau said.

The Census Bureau's annual snapshot of living standards offered a new set of statistics to show how devastating the recession was and how disappointing the recovery has been. For a huge swath of American families, the gains of the boom of the 2000s have been wiped out. – “Income Slides to 1996 Levels: Median Household Earnings Fall for Third Year, Census Says.” 9/14/11. Read more